Rosetta's historic 12-year mission

Rosetta landing

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta mission came to a dramatic end on Friday, Sept. 30, 2016 with a deliberate crash landing of the spacecraft on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, known for active pits that spew comet dust into space. The enormously successful 12-year mission ended after more than two years of unprecedented close-range observations.

Seen here, an artist’s concept of ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft moments before impact on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta came to rest within a half mile of the Philae lander it dropped off in Nov. 2014. The Philae became the first man-made craft to ever land on a comet Nov. 12, 2014.

The probe is named after the Rosetta stone, a stele of Egyptian origin and the lander is named after Philae, an island in Lake Nasser, Egypt.

Credit: ESA

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Rosetta’s OSIRIS narrow-angle camera captured this image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at 01:20 GMT from an altitude of about 16 km above the surface during the spacecraft’s final descent on September 30, 2016.

The final hours of descent enabled Rosetta to make many once-in-a-lifetime measurements, including analyzing gas and dust closer to the surface than ever possible before, and taking very high-resolution images of the comet nucleus. The images expected include views of the open pits of the Ma’at region, where the spacecraft is expected to make its controlled impact.

Credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Rosetta’s camera took this image when the spacecraft was 17.4 km from the center of the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, about 15.4 km from the surface on September 30, 2016.

Credit: ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Rosetta’s OSIRIS narrow-angle camera captured this image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from an altitude of about 16 km above the surface during the spacecraft’s final descent on September 30, 2016.

Credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

This image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was taken on September 5, 2015 from a distance of 445 km from the comet center.

Credit: ESA/Rosetta/NavCam

Comet_on_22_March_2015_NavCam2

The comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, as seen by Europe’s orbiting Rosetta spacecraft, on March 22, 2015.

Credit: ESA/ROSETTA/NAVCAM – CC BY-SA IGO 3.0

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

An image captured by the Philae lander after coming to rest in a jumble of shadowed rocket during a landing attempt in November 2014.

Credit: ESA

Comet landing

This four-image composite was taken from a distance of 12.5 miles from the center of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, Dec.10, 2014.

Credit: European Space Agency

Rosetta flyby

Four image montage of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comprising images taken on February 14, 2015 from a distance of 35 km.

Credit: European Space Agency

Rosetta flyby

Four image mosaic of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comprising images taken on February 14, 2015 from a distance of 8.9 km from the surface. The image focuses on the stunning features of the Imhotep region, on the comet’s large lobe.

Credit: European Space Agency

Comet landing

This photo taken by the Rosetta spacecraft’s OSIRIS camera of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet is the first color image released by the European Space Agency, Dec. 2, 2014. The image of the space rock shows valleys, cliffs, and craters as a dusty mix of red and brown.

OSIRIS stands for Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System. It consists of a narrow-angle camera with 12 filters and a wide-angle camera with 14 filters, that allow the instrument to capture wavelengths of light beyond what the human eye can see. The instrument then combines images from its blue, green, and orange filters to present a “true color” photo. The current image is bit blurry because the comet moved between camera exposures.

Credit: ESA/ROSETTA/OSIRIS

Comet landing

These images taken with Rosetta’s OSIRIS camera and released Nov. 17, 2014 show the incredible journey (from L-R) of Rosetta’s Philae lander as it approached and rebounded from its first touchdown on the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet over a 30 minute period on Nov. 12.

Credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS

Comet landing

The surface of the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet Nov. 13, 2014 seen from the Philae lander. With only a 60-hour charge, the Philander died late Nov. 14. Its bumpy landing put it in a shady area making it unable to expose the solar panels to enough light to recharge. Scientists collected as much data as they could prior to the batteries running out.

Credit: European Space Agency

Comet landing

Rosetta’s lander Philae returned the first panoramic image from the surface of a comet Nov. 13, 2014. The view, unprocessed, as it has been captured by the CIVA-P imaging system, shows a 360º view around the point of final touchdown. Superimposed on top of the image is a sketch of the Philae lander in the configuration the lander team currently believe it is in.

Credit: European Space Agency

Comet landing

The first panoramic ‘postcard’ from the surface of a comet by the Philae lander of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on Nov. 13, 2014 shows a 360 degree view around the point of final touchdown.

Credit: European Space Agency

Comet landing

The surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko photographed during Philae’s descent when it was about 130 feet above. It shows the surface of the comet covered by dust and debris ranging in size from inches to feet. The large block in the top right corner is less than a two tenths of an inch in size. In the same corner the structure of the Philae landing gear is visible. The aim of the ROLIS (Rosetta Lander Imaging System) experiment is to study the texture and microstructure of the comet’s surface.

Credit: European Space Agency

Comet landing

The Philae lander moves towards its landing site on the surface of comet 67P/CG Nov. 12, 2014 from a distance of approximately 1.8 miles from the surface.

The lander separated from Rosetta earlier on Nov. 12 and headed towards the surface of the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko 67P which is moving at the speed of more than 80,000 miles per hour.

Credit: European Space Agency

Comet landing

A narrow-angle image from a distance of 18.6 miles Sept. 14, 2014 (prior to landing) marks the first touchdown point of the Philae lander. It’s believed the Philae bounced twice before settling on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Nov. 12, 2014 in the first-ever landing on a comet.

Credit: European Space Agency

Rosetta probe touches down

A photo taken by the Rosetta probe’s OSIRIS camera of the Philae lander with it’s landing gear extended after detaching from Rosetta. The Philae lander successfully landed on comet P67/Churyumov–Gerasimenko Nov. 12, 2014.

The European Space Agency (ESA) probe, launched in March 2004 rendezvoused with 67P/Comet after a voyage of 4.4 billion miles. The refrigerator-sized lab, called Philae, was sent to the comet’s surface to investigate the rock’s chemistry.

Credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS

Comet landing

The Rosetta space probe shown in a photo taken by the Philae lander’s imaging system captured one of Rosetta’s 46 foot-long solar arrays shortly after separation headed for a landing on the surface of comet p67/Churyumov–Gerasimenko Nov. 12, 2014.

The probe and Philae rode through space together for more than 10 years to meet up with the comet.

Credit: ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA

Comet landing

An artist’s impression of the European Space Agency (ESA) probe Rosetta with Mars in the background. The European comet-chasing spacecraft is set for a nail-biting close encounter Nov. 12, 2014 with Mars.

The billion-euro (1.3-billion-dollar) probe, Rosetta, came within 156 miles of the Red Planet’s surface, using Martian gravity to correct its course in one of the longest and costliest treks in the history of unmanned space exploration to rendez-vous with the 67P/Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Credit: C.CARREAU/AFP/Getty Images

Comet landing

A photo illustration shows the flight path of the Rosetta probe and its Philae lander over the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet.

Credit: European Space Agency

Comet landing

This composite of two images taken Oct. 7, 2014 shows parts of the space probe Rosetta in front of the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko from a distance of about 10 miles from the surface of the comet. The image shows the side of the Rosetta spacecraft and one of Rosetta’s 45 foot-long solar wings, with the comet in the background. Two images with different exposure times were combined to bring out the faint details in this very high contrast situation. The comet’s active ‘neck’ region is clearly visible, with streams of dust and gas extending away from the surface.

Credit: European Space Agency

Comet landing

The boulder-strewn neck region of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, with the smaller lobe on the left and the larger lobe on the right, taken with the navigation camera on the Rosetta probe Oct. 28, 2014. It was captured from a distance of 6 miles from the center of the comet (about 4.8 miles from the surface). The Philae lander detached from Rosetta to land on the comet Nov. 12, 2014.

Credit: European Space Agency

Probe comet landing

A photo illustration shows the Agilkia landing site where the Philae lander, delivered by the Rosetta probe, was scheduled to land Nov. 12, 2014 on the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet.

Credit: European Space Agency

Comet landing

This close up photo of the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was taken by the Rosetta spacecraft with the OSIRIS narrow-angle camera Aug. 3, 2014 in space from a distance of 80 miles shows boulders and craters on the comet’s surface. The European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft is the first to rendezvous with a comet following it on a journey around the sun.

Credit: European Space Agency

Comet landing

The 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Comet is seen in a super close-up photo taken by the Rosetta spacecraft with the OSIRIS narrow-angle camera Aug. 3, 2014 in space.

Credit: European Space Agency

Comet landing

A photo illustration of the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Comet shown to scale in comparison to the city of Paris.

Credit: European Space Agency

Comet landing

A photo illustration shows the Philae lander (C) descending onto the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet after a successful separation from the Rosetta probe. The Philae lander is expected to touch down on the comet Nov. 12, 2014.